Shaman abilities
Shaman are jacks-of-all-trades, able to use a combination of ranged spells, short range shocks, heals, melee weapons, and their totems which can provide all kinds of utility. Burning Crusade Expansion Burning Crusade shaman spell preview Abilities Table Standard Abilities These abilities are available to all Shaman at the appropriate level, regardless of Talents. Talent Granted Abilities Rank 1 in these abilities is only unlocked by purchasing them from the appropriate Talent tree. Ranks 2 and beyond can then be purchased from the Shaman Trainer as normal. Elemental Enhancement Restoration Burning Crusade Abilities Note:The following are from here Abilities by Type Ranged Damage Long Range Shaman have two long range attack spells, the single target Lightning Bolt and the multi-target Chain Lightning. Lightning bolt is good for pulling and taking out a runner. Chain Lightning should only be used once someone else has aggro, unless the Shaman is attempting to build threat on multiple mobs to better protect Fire Totems. Short Range The 3 Shock spells provide good burst damage during a fight. Earth Shock is useful because it interrupts spell casting. Frost Shock slows the enemies which allows you to catch people running away or slow down attacker coming at you (this is the shaman's best kiting spell). As of The Burning Crusade, Frost Shock now causes extra threat (instead of Earth Shock), making it great for pulling mobs off of casters. A single Flame Shock does more damage than either Earth Shock or Frost Shock. However, the damage is spread out over 12 seconds (this is the shaman's only DoT spell). Weapon Buffs The four weapon enchants Enahnce to the shaman's attacks with elemental powers. Rockbiter Weapon gives a straight plus to the weapon's dps, but it also generates extra threat (this is great for maintaining aggro when the shaman is on "caster defense"). Be careful, Rockbiter can "steal aggro" from the main tank; it must be used wisely. Rockbiter is the only weapon enchant that still functions while in Ghost Wolf form. Flametongue Weapon adds slightly less damage than its peers, but it is a good choice for increasing damage with little additional threat, especially against foes that are resistant to frost damage, it also dose damage every strike made, unlike Frostbrand Weapon and Windfury Weapon. Frostbrand Weapon is considered by some the worst enchant because its slowing effect can be easily replicated with Frost Shock. However Frostbrand provides superior (though less consistent) damage per second compared to Flametongue and allows for the control of fleeing enemies without resetting the shock cooldown -- this is especially effective against fleeing casters. The Windfury Weapon gives a 20% chance of extra attacks with greatly increased attack power. While this can give inconsistent damage, it can also provide impressive results if the additional attacks score critical hits. Again beware, Windfury crits can cause high amounts of threat and can easily steal aggro in group battles. A common question is "which buff to use?" When soloing, most people think that you should use Rockbiter with a one-handed weapon and Windfury with a two-handed weapon. Avoid using Windfury in combination with your Magma Totem, especially when using a slow weapon, because if you aren't getting critical hits and extra attacks against all affected mobs one of them will destroy the totem before resuming its attack upon you. Maintaining aggro with Rockbiter allows you to deal the most damage with your totem. While in groups the best choice depends on your role: If you are off-tanking, you probably would use Rockbiter to hold aggro. If you are not asked to tank, then Windfury or Flametongue is probably your best bet. To compare the weaponbuffs, you may view this spreadsheet http://home.c2i.net/argor/wow/shmweaponbuffs.ods Healing Shaman have three types of healing spells. Healing Wave is a mana-efficient heal but it takes 3 seconds to cast (or 2.5 seconds with 5 talent points in Improved Healing Wave). Lesser Healing Wave takes 1.5 seconds but is less mana-efficient. Chain Heal is a mana-efficient heal that heals 3 friendly targets in a row. Shaman can also Cure Poison and Cure Disease (singularly or with group-affecting totems). Totem Totems fall into several different categories. Damage Searing Totem is a single target damage totem. Fire Nova Totem does a single AoE attack to all nearby. Magma Totem surrounds itself with an AoE DoT effect. Buff Stoneskin Totem, Strength of Earth Totem, Tremor Totem, Frost Resistance Totem, Fire Resistance Totem, Flametongue Totem, Grounding Totem, Nature Resistance Totem, Windfury Totem, Windwall Totem, Grace of Air Totem, and Tranquil Air Totem all provide some buff to the shaman's party. Debuff Earthbind Totem and Stoneclaw Totem debuff the enemies by slowing them down and distracting them, respectively. Healing Shaman have many totems that provide healing and regeneration effects on the team. Healing Stream Totems and Mana Spring Totems increase the regeneration rate of health and mana. The Poison Cleansing Totem and the Disease Cleansing Totem remove those effects from party members. As of patch 2.0.10, the Wrath of Air Totem provides bonus healing as well. ---- thumb|Damage-based Shaman spells, displayed as damage-per-mana-point. Go to Shaman Totems Category:Shaman Abilities